State investors plan to take private HK-listed BMW China partner Brilliance: sources

[HONG KONG] State-backed investors are considering taking BMW's main Chinese joint-venture partner Brilliance private, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in the latest such deal targeting beaten down Hong Kong-listed stocks.

The take-private of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, with a current market value of US$4.6 billion, would be led by state-controlled Liaoning Provincial Transportation Investment Group which already owns 12 per cent of Brilliance, said the people.

The privatisation would attract other Chinese state-backed investors and could kick off as soon as the fourth quarter of the year, said two of the people.

Brilliance's parent Huachen Automotive Group said it had not obtained any relevant information about the Transportation Investment Group considering leading the take-private of Brilliance.

Brilliance, Liaoning Transportation Investment Group, the provincial state asset regulator and BMW did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Based in Shenyang city of north-eastern Liaoning province, Brilliance is 30 per cent owned by parent Huachen Group, which is majority-owned by the provincial state asset regulator.

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REUTERS